The start of the rest of my life...

Today is the beginning of the end... and the beginning of new beginnings!

It is a time when life is going to drastically change... and I like to think for the better.

Yes, today is the beginning of my 14 months off of work. This beginning is also the end ... It is the end of life as we know it (and I feel fine!) It is the end of "alone" time, the end of "just the 2 of us" time. And it is the start of a family! In 2 months we will have a new baby! That will be the beginning of the rest of our lives. The beginning of new beginnings, new starts, new lives.

I can't wait.

Ops!

After guilting someone else into updating her blog, I guess I should update mine? LOL

Happy Easter!

Things are going well. The big thing lately with me has been what the hubby delicately calls "the bump" and the things that its doing to me! Mainly I get tired faster, so that makes marking take longer (if I do any at all, bad bad teacher) and made report cards quite the chore.

All in all, "the bump" is doing well. Next week we get to find out if there is a hoohoo or a dingle. That is, if it is a boy or a girl. There are so many different aspects to consider when expecting a son or a daughter. Of course, the main thing is that our child is born healthy and happy and with all fingers and toes attached! Knowing the gender is just icing on the cake, and I intend to enjoy that icing by buying many cute girl or boy specific clothes. Theres just something wonderful about a girl in a pretty dress or with a cute outfit on, and something charming about a baby boy with a bowtie!

And there's always the hilarious things you can buy that show just a bit of attitude.



So for Easter, we are relaxing and enjoying yet another last long weekend/holiday without kids! We are running out of these, as there are only 3 long weekend/holidays before the end of August, when we welcome "the bump" into the world.

Because I can...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No, my mom just always liked my name as a child and wanted to name her daughter the name.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Um... Don't ask that of a pregnant woman. LOL

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Sometimes. Normally no, but once in a while it seems pretty to me.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
EW

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Wait till the end of August...

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I'd be curious in getting to know me. lol

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
"Who me? Never. " Ditto.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Heck No. I'll do that right after I go Skydiving! HA

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cheerios right now. Fruit Loops ranks right up there too.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
"Not unless I have to. " Ditto again

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Chocolate anything

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Smile, eyes (do they make eye contact, etc)

15. RED OR Pink?
RED!!!!

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
There are many things...

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
my friend in Winnipeg

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Meh

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Jeans and no shoes (I'm inside, geez who needs shoes)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Classicial Trancelations - Communication by Armin Van Buuren (so pretty, I love it)

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
red

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Fresh Bread, Hubbys aftershave, hubby in general, turkey or roast beef in the oven

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My father in law

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes! shes a wonderful person and friend.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Hockey

27. HAIR COLOR?
Really dark brown

28. EYE COLOR?
See above.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Pasta of any kind.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy please!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Casablanca on the weekend

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Red. (Notice a colour theme here?)

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Depends. This year, definitely summer, for obvious reasons (see question #2 & 5)

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Meh

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
See above.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Technically To Kill a Mockingbird for school... and Curious Incident of the Dog at Night -time, and reading a friends unpublished novel, betwixt and between.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I dont have one. YAY optical mighty mouse.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
TV? Whats that?

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
The ocean, hubbys voice and laugh

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
The Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Spain I guess.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can flare my nostrils!!!

46 WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
In a Hospital...

47. WHO’S ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK
I'm surprised if anyone reads this. HAHA

Monday begins a new semester. New classes and new students. This term should be interesting as I will have students in grade 9, 10, 11, and 12. All these in 3 periods. I am teaching 2 Business courses and an Engligh class. I am looking forward to teaching my favorite play, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. There is so much fun in that play - cross dressing, mistaken identities, a love story, drunken revelry, mischief and mockery.

The last semester is marked and put away and done. Time to turn a new page and begin anew. The next 5 months bring lots of excitement, and I know they will be very busy. And then, summer! (Hey, teachers are allowed to count down too!) Between here and summer is family day holiday, my birthday, march break, easter long weekend, may long weekend, and then the craziness of prom and the last days of school, spent in a school with a bad ventilation system and air conditioning that barely works and hot computer labs sweltering at 30+ degrees Celsius.
But then summer awaits!

Cheers to the new semester!

Another semester down...

Another semester is ending... and not a moment too soon. Now exams ensue, along with some crazed teachers trying to mark and meet obscene deadlines.

I enjoyed my classes overall this term, and with a few bumps and hiccups we survived and are into 2nd semester. This one went so much faster than 1st semester last year. I'm glad its gone fast, and I know the 2nd term always goes much faster as spring and summer approach.
My courses for next term are still up in limbo... some applications are out and now I play the waiting game.

On Tuesday, Barack Obama was Inaugurated as the 44th President. And the school had a great impromptu assembly for it. The library/head technology guy set up a laptop and projector with the Inauguration on it, and since I was teaching my civics class at noon, we went down to watch it in the auditorium. By the time it got past the intros and into his oath, the place was packed. Standing room only. I was impressed with the number of classes down there. I like to think that those teachers understand and discussed the importance of the historical moment the students experienced. However, I'm pretty sure that it had more to do with the fact that it was the 2nd last day of the semester and it was a handy time filler.
Ah well, to each their own.

The New Year

Another year is here and its time to start again.
After having a couple of rough years, I am hoping for a great 2009. I am looking forward to new experiences and trying new things and spending it with those that I love.

Christmas Holidays

It's the night before Christmas Eve Day and the Christmas rush is upon me. My presents are bought, wrapped and under the tree, with a couple exceptions. The laundry is on (yes, at 1:00 am) as I am preparing for my voyage south. The next 2 days are packed with family activities and Christmas Turkey will be bountiful.

There are a couple family traditions that we have in our family - one is that we spend every Christmas Eve with my husbands family. They always made Christmas Eve the big night and had a big turkey dinner and opened presents late and played and slept in late on Christmas day - and we still do that! And Christmas morning (well, usually late in the morning) hubby and I do our gifts and stockings at home. Christmas Day is always with my parents and my moms side of the family. Again, there is more turkey, more presents, and more fun. By the end of Christmas day, I'm normally turkey-ed out and tired, but its well worth it. All in all, Christmas is all about being with family and friends, giving and receiving, being with those we love, and yes, we celebrate Christ's birth.

Past Boxing Days have brought various things - sleeping in, more Turkey, sometimes running out to stores early in the morning for the sales and spending all that precious Christmas money or gift cards.

This year Boxing Day brings a road trip!


We will pack our bags and leave sometime Friday afternoon, headed for the sunny south. Temperatures in Florida this week have been around 25 degrees Celsius (Don't even ask me what that is in Fahrenheit...) and that's a lot warmer than -10 degrees and snow. So I'm looking forward to a road trip with hubby. We have audio books, iPods, portable DVD player & DVDs, the radio, and each other to keep us awake and alert for 24 hours until we hit Tampa Airport and pick up our Florida Buddies Saturday night (who fly in instead of driving, lucky ducks). Then, they get to keep us somewhat sane for the last hour to the condo, where we will likely both collapse and sleep until Sunday morning, when the fun begins!

ideas...

Today was a refreshing day. I attending a conference on eLearning, and it challenged some of my ideas on how to use technology in all classes, both in an eLearning environment and in a traditional classroom.

The neatest thing... Cell Phone Film Fest ... yup, all those teenagers with cell phone video cameras have to create a video that is filmed entirely on their cell phone (editing allowed after the fact) and then submit for a film fest and judging. Never would have thought of it, and kids would eat it up. Something to consider if I can find a way to work it in. (Dont think I'm quite up to it yet though)

We talked about podcasting for presentations instead of getting in front of the class. Letting kids test, edit, and finalize what they say... rather than the pressure of getting in front of the class. And yes, I know the argument against that is that it isn't like the real world,... but on the other hand, I wouldnt want every presentation to be "virtual" just one or 2 to give them the experience of recording, revising, critiquing and analyzing their own work, which is a higher order thinking process in itself.

Also, taking pictures of completed assignments or notes on a board with a cell phone, submitting it to qipit.com and getting a PDF sent back to you to post on your website, email to absentee students, display and save exemplars, etc.

There were some really interesting things discussed. And I was also introduced to Twitter, and that looks like a lot of fun. More things to play with!

Good morning...

Ever feel like this as you go through the daily grind?
Luckily, there is but one more week before the Christmas Holidays.

Full moons

For 3 years I have been in the teaching profession and for 3 years I have begun to recognize and analyze a trend... the problem now is how to utilize this trend to my advantage. The trend is the moon phases and the affects it has on children and teenagers. (Yes, I realize I will start to sound like an old witch who should be standing over her cauldron chanting "Double Double Toil and Trouble").

For many years I have spent my days with students who are extremely "active" or "jubliant" or "wild and rangy", etc etc. That's not to say that the kids are "bad", rather some of them have been brilliant at times. But alas, hormones always seem to kick in. And for some reason I have yet to determine, the week around the full moon is always the worst for behavior and rudeness and kids sent to the office. For many, this is a time when they seem to lose control of themselves and forget that they are in fact human beings who can think, reason, act and behave. For the few days leading up to and after the full moon, said "children" become beings who forget what manners and respect are, and become totally self indulgent (yes, even MORE so than they normally are, if you can possibly believe that). All reason and logic flee said individuals, leaving teachers in a frustrating state of insanity and at a loss as to why seemingly normal students have lost all ability to think and reason.

And then this teacher went home and complained to her significant other about said students. Said Significant other then opened up google and said "Oh look, a full moon" ... And lo, the heavens opened and the light of knowledge shone down upon me and I said "That explains EVERYTHING".

So there it is. The Cycle begins again. When another full moon comes upon us and I am caught unawares again, I hope to have hubby to remind me of the madness that will ensue in the school for a few days before returning to normal.

Which leads me to my dilemma that brought this rant up in the first place... How do I deal with such knowledge? How do I harness the power that a full moon has and a) remind myself ahead of time to expect Dr. Jekyll instead of Mr Hyde, and b) prepare myself for the the inevitable outcome of insanity for a few days? Add to this the fact that the holidays are a week away and they are hyper with the prospect of the myriad of gifts that are forthcoming (spoiled brats that we raise in society today). This all equals a double trouble for teachers.

What is the answer? Is the answer in the all mighty movie day? Should I plan ahead and show movies on days of the full moon? Or just continue on as usual? Continuing doesn't seem to work without causing stress and frustration on my part. For now, I'll just rely on the fact that there 6 days left of school and then a 2 week break that is much needed.

Favorites

ICHC has added another new site (I love when they expand) called Once Upon a Win and it is full of goodness from my childhood, such as LiteBright, Fraggle Rock, Fisher Price, Nintendo and Atari! It really brings me back to days as a kid playing with these toys and watching these tv shows. Who knew I'd be looking at it years later over the net (which didnt exist at the time) and writing about it on a blog... ahh as the world turns.

In other news, my favorite author of all time Jacqueline Carey has posted a link on her site to the newest blurb about her next trilogy and I'm drooling already. Too bad I need to wait 6 or 7 months before I get it. However, it does add to my excitment for the summer. For the last few years, every June brings not only the end of school and the beginning of a summer vacation, sunshine and freedom, but it also has always brought a new Kushiel's book with it! And this year seems it will be no different. The last book, Kushiel's Mercy, I read... nay, devoured in about 4 days. Its a pretty hefty book too. Her prose is so alluring and sensual. I always buy the hardcover copy of her books. There's something satisfying about holding a hard bound book fresh off the press. Writing is a huge process, and to hold it firmly in a hand and feel the presence of the book and the writer is just as much a part of enjoying the book as actually reading it.

My apartment is getting more decorated for Christmas, which is a favorite time of year.

Work is getting closer to being done for a 2 week break, which is always a bonus.

My Roadtrip south with the Hubby is also getting closer... thats a favorite too, and add in my love of the ocean and a couple of favorite friends and I'm all set for a great vacation.

People are fools...

Technology...

It's interesting how things happen at the same time...
Today as Hubby posted a rant about technology I also was part of a conversation at school about the exact same thing.

A couple of students were meeting with a co-worker and friend of mine who teaches the Sociology, anthropology and psychology course. One student was unsure of a thesis for their ISU essay, and they were brainstorming ideas for it. The Topic: Dysfunctional families in the future. My co-worker asked if I had any ideas for things that would affect families in the future IE: Something that will cause dysfunctional families. The first thing that came to mind.... Technology and the net.

Yes, its a wide wonderful world of information and entertainment, but I can see it causing more dysfunction in society as time goes on. (and it does)
The big reason is this... As much as technology is helping make the world a smaller and more accessible place (for example, I can keep in touch with my friend in another province easily and for no cost (other than my normal internet cost) which is something I wouldnt be able to do as easily without the net).
However, it also changes the way people communicate. And with the younger generations (listen to me, I sound so old) I find they are losing the ability to communicate effectively. Back in the day (oh gosh, I sound like my mother) if I wanted to see / talk to a friend, I walked down the street, around the block, and knocked on their door and asked to see them or play with them... and we then socialized face to face and learned how to communicate and deal with people, with disagreements and with conflict, while also learning respect, sharing, manners etc.

Today, when a 13 year old wants to talk to a friend, theres no communication. Its a facebook message or a text message "o hai wtf u doin 2day? ttyl gtg" (ok that was painful to type)
I did a survey on my grade 10 students in sept and sure enough, many of them rely on facebook, text messages and msn to communicate with friends and family.

And so here is where the dysfunction starts. There is no face to face communiction. No ability to see a face, to get feedback, to see the reaction on peoples face, to read finer social cues that body language and facial expressions convey in a way that text messages never will. A whole generation is growing up without those abilties being reinforced every day. Some day, when those people are in real relationships, living day in and day out with someone in a family environment (traditional family, blended family, same sex family, etc, it matters not to me) they will be unable to deal with the daily interactions between spouses, children, co-workers, etc. Their ability to resolve conflicts and deal effectively with conflict and communication isn't developed the way it was when I was young, when the everyday interactions you had were always face to face. They won't have that knowledge and experience as a child/young person and will be totally disconnected from the world of relationships and communication. This will add to the breakdown of families in society that we already see every day, adding to the stress that accompanies any close intimate relationship (married or not, there are always conflicts to overcome).

Yes I realize the slight irony in my rant, being over the internet and in a medium where you cannot see my face, cannot tell if I'm serious or sarcastic. In some ways I am dead serious. I see students who are unable to deal with face to face communication, who dont read social cues. Still others dont understand the need for manners and respect. Its a vicious cycle that continues, as young people can bury themselves in technology and cyberspace.

On the otherhand, I also realize that I am perhaps going overboard with the analysis here. Still, it makes for a good thesis for sociology. I'm excited to actually see this essay come to fruition (if it does) and I will be bugging my co-worker to see the essay once it is handed in!

Giggle

One of my daily habits is to check my favorite sites for updates.
These sites include Melissa's Miscellany, I Can Has Cheezburger (and all affiliated sites) and my favorite Webcomic, Ctrl-Alt-Del, or CAD.

Usually I prefer the storyline arcs in CAD. The characters are great and the story has been really involving over the last few months, so I've been hooked to it like glue. After the happy resolution of a comedy of errors between the main couple, Tim has gone to drawing a bunch of cartoons for different video games that are out. Normally I look at them but Don't always get into them as they tend to be games I either havent played or have no interest in.

However, Today's entertains me enough to link it on my blog...
Brings back memories of old video games I played with friends growing up, and a couple of my favorite 80s cartoons...

(Note: I can't get this to properly show on the blog.. I'm working on figuring out that, but for now click on the image and it will link to CAD. Thanks!)

Weekends and Christmas approaching...

I enjoy this fun chart. As a student, and as a teacher, it is the truth. LOL.



It's been a nice weekend, staying warm inside with the hubby today and going on a shopping day with a wonderful best friend tomorrow (BluntDaisy). It will be great to start looking for Christmas presents! This year is going to be a small budget year as we are paying off debts and looking to save some money. Christmas is hard for me to not spend everything, so it will be a challenge to find that perfect gift at an affordable price. But it will be so much fun! At least I get to listen to Christmas carols at the stores all day.

Bring it on!

I'm also still psyched up for our trip south. It's going to be our present to each other. Transportation plans were finalized today and it looks like it will be a go ahead! We are driving down to Florida, which is a nice 23-24 hour drive. Yes it sounds crazy, but its actually a lot of fun to push through and drive it straight. I do the day shift, hubby drives the night shift. We keep each other awake and listen to music and audio books and last year had some movies on the DVD player going (for passenger to watch and driver to listen to). I love road trips with the Hubby!

Fire alarms... and all that jazz...

So today we had the fire alarm go off. Not a pre planned, the office lets me know a day ahead kind of fire alarm drill. No, this was the someone decided it would be fun to light something in order to set off the school sprinkler systems in a back stairwell kind of Fire alarm.
So when we evacuate the building near that stairwell, a wave of water comes flooding down the stairs and scares the crap out of a few students who have no idea whats going on. So I spent over half an hour outside in the cold, below freezing temps and now I have a very sore lower back from standing with my back to the cold wind for so long with no coat on. So I'm sitting with a heating pad on my back.

In other news, I went to dinner with some friends tonight and started planning a trip to the sunny south for the week after Christmas... MMM Sounds wonderful. I hope it all works out and I can spend a few days sitting on the beach! Theres something wonderful about the Ocean and me. It calls to me. Its the one thing in nature that really makes me feel at home and makes me long to be near it. Water in general has that effect on me, but the ocean is the strongest force. theres something primal in it.

Maybe its because I'm a Pisces? Its like going home for me.

I'm really excited to feel the wind in my hair and on my face, taste the salt, feel the water around my feet, and long to walk in and keep going forever and ever. Sometimes I really could, and not in a morbid death wish kind of way, but in a purely primal "returning to the ocean" kind of way.




"Absorb thyself in this Great Sea of the waters of life. Dive deep in it until thou has lost thyself. And having lost thyself, then thou shall find thyself again. Even as it is written, she had her dwelling in the Great Sea, and was a fish therein."

Engrish

This speaks for itself. I love Engrish.

Hubby found this on the weekend and I liked it because its true.

Then and Now: School in 1958 and School in 2008.

Scenario:
Jack goes quail hunting before school,
pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

• 1958- Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun,goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
• 2008 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

• 1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
• 2008 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario:
Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students.

• 1958 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
• 2008 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car
and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

• 1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
• 2008 - Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

• 1958 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
• 2008 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.

• 1958 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
• 2008 - Pedro’s cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that knowing English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July,
puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.

• 1958 - Ants die.
• 2008- BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee.
He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

• 1958 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
• 2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

It is amazing how much can change in the span of just 50 years. For better or for worse the world is drastically different.


(from http://www.bloggled.com/blog/2008/11/13/how-times-have-changedschool-1958-vs-2008/)

Tv shows & Mondays

I'm pretty picky at times with TV shows. I hate those stupid brainless series where you need no brain to watch and the valley girls always giggle .. ie: Friends.

Anyway, I've started to get into some darker TV shows lately and I am really enjoying them! Dexter season 3 is well underway and I'm enjoying this season as much as ever! I can't wait for it to get juicier, as it always does farther into the season.

My Mother In Law also introduced me to a series called True Blood. Its a vampire series, and although I was never one for vampire movies, I like this series. Its not just vampires, but shape shifters and werewolves and other faerie types. Its also very sexualized and tantalizing and sexy too. Which adds to the appeal. Hubby and I are currently in Episode # 3 and enjoying it.

Report card season is done at work. It's partly to blame the last week for my lack of posting... I had lots of marking and then lots of time entering marks and writing comments. I don't exactly do 100% personalized comments - thats too time consuming with close to 100 students. Sad but true. Maybe it makes me a worse teacher, but I need time to myself too. I spent 3 nights last week at school until 930, 1030 and 11.

On that note, going back to school today was difficult. It seemed like a long day.
In my senior class this afternoon, a student and I figured out that there is only 6 weeks left of teaching time until Exams. WOW... That was kind of scary... Then add 2 weeks for Exams and Review days, and add in the Christmas Holidays and the semester seems so short. The year goes so fast when you are a teacher! Then again, some weeks seem to drag on for Months...

So, here are my thoughts for the rest of Monday... You said it Kitteh...

Hallowe'en

For Hallowe'en this year I chose to dress up.
At work they like it when the staff dress up, last year it was semi "demanded" and this year its more optional, but I actually put more effort into it this year than I did last year!

Hallowe'en is the one time of the year you can dress however you want, and not have anyone take a second look at you. On the other hand, the long green wart covered finger gloves I wore last year got a LOT of reactions from my kids, and that was fun too. This year I'm going for a more classy look, as a southern belle.

I haven't exactly gotten the accent down, but maybe if I don't talk too much it won't matter! ;)

I loved Hallowe'en as a kid - it always meant spending a few hours with dad the day or 2 before Halloween carving the pumpkin. Getting your hands good and dirty and slimy, pulling out gobs of pumpkin guts with your hands and poking out the face once they were carved... and then sorting out the seeds and eating roasted pumpkin seeds. Mmmm those are great salted. Today a coworker had some and was sharing them around in the staff room. I haven't had roasted pumpkin seeds in years and damn they were good. Me thinks I need to get a pumpkin just to roast the seeds... Too bad kids don't trick or treat in the apartment. (then again, maybe thats a GOOD Thing).


Trick or Treat!!!

Happy Hallowe'en